Lugar Says Cheney Criticism Unfair

Richard Lugar, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called President Barack Obama’s handling of recent terrorism threats “strong,” disputing former Vice President Dick Cheney’s criticism.
“It’s unfair,” Lugar said in an interview for Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital with Al Hunt,” airing this weekend. “I think the president is focused.” More at Bloomberg

Obama to Call For Economic Aid for Afghanistan Region

Obama will outline his plan for the region tomorrow.

NPR: President Obama will outline his new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Friday in an effort to regain the initiative in the faltering Afghan war.

The president is expected to announce that he'll send an additional 4,000 American troops to Afghanistan to act as advisors and trainers for the Afghan security forces. That's in addition to the 17,000 extra troops he has already ordered to be in place this year. The advisors and trainers will help with an effort by American commanders to double the size of the Afghan military by 2011.

The president's plan also is expected to call for hundreds more civilian experts to help build Afghanistan's economy, infrastructure and civil society. The idea there is to combat the Taliban insurgency by showing Afghans that the government can offer them a better life.

Republican respresentative Pete Hoekstra tweets:

Pres outlines revised Afghan/Pak straegy tomorrow.Got briefed in Intell todayThere's nothing easy about this.

From Marc Ambinder:

President Barack Obama's new posture toward Afghanistan and Pakistan, to be unveiled tomorrow, codifies for the first time Iran's role in regional diplomacy, emphasizes counterterrorism as the primary mission of U.S. policy, and includes a multi-modal surge of civilians and economic aid to both countries.

According to people who have been briefed on the results of the policy review, Obama plans to emphasize results-driven cooperation with both countries. He will endorse a Senate bill, authored by Sens. John Kerry and Richard Lugar, that would condition a significant increase in aid to Pakistan on measurable improvements in Pakistan's internal efforts to combat terrorism. (President Obama and Vice President Biden were cosponsors of the bill in the Senate.)

In seeking to reassure Americans that help to Pakistan is contingent on internal reforms, he plans to stress that Americans will work with those in both countries who demonstratively seek peace and reconciliation. read the rest

Obama Speaks to Lugar

But it's not what you think. We're now in the midst of guess that cabinet member.

NYT: Aha! So maybe Mr. Obama really is considering Mr. Lugar for secretary of state, as many in Washington have been assuming. But wait. Mr. Lugar’s office said the conversation Monday had nothing at all to do with the Cabinet.

“It was not about secretary of state,” Andy Fisher, a Lugar spokesman, said in an e-mail message. “Lugar is not interested (as he explains repeatedly). Nothing about that position was discussed during the call. They discussed ways in which they will continue to work on a number of foreign policy fronts as Lugar continues his Republican foreign policy leadership in the Senate.”

The call to Mr. Lugar was one of three Mr. Obama made after visiting President Bush at the White House, then stopping for a private, 40-minute meeting at a fire station at the airport. Aides would not describe whom he met with. It’s a fair guess that he may have been meeting with a candidate for the Cabinet. But then again, that’s also just a guess.

Obama's adviser Valerie Jarrett says stop guessing. Meanwhile, the media is guessing what Jarrett will do. Some have said she'd replace Obama in the Senate. Emanuel has said she's a close adviser, which means Obama will probably want her in the White House.

CNN: Two Democratic sources close to President-elect Barack Obama tell CNN that top adviser Valerie Jarrett will not be appointed to replace him in the U.S. Senate.

"While he (Obama) thinks she would be a good senator, he wants her in the White House," one top Obama advisor told CNN Monday.

Over the weekend, Democratic sources had told CNN as well as Chicago television station WLS-TV that Jarrett was Obama's choice to fill his Senate seat.

More Obama Staff Speculation

So far we have Rahm Emanuel, chief of staff, known as "the enforcer"; Robert Gibbs, press secretary, David Axelrod, presidential adviser.

MSNBC:
SECRETARY OF STATE

Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., former U.N. ambassador and energy secretary.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., 2004 presidential nominee.

Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., former chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., critic of Iraq war, retiring from Senate.

Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Eric Holder, former deputy attorney general.

Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano.

Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., member of House Judiciary Committee.

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, former assistant U.S. attorney for civil rights.

ENERGY SECRETARY

Former Rep. Philip Sharp, D-Ind., president of Resources for the Future think tank.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

EPA ADMINISTRATOR

Lisa P. Jackson, commissioner of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Mary Nichols, head of California Air Resources Board.

Kathleeen McGinty, former secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY

Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.

Howard Dean, chairman of Democratic National Committee, physician, former Vermont governor.

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY

Jane Garvey, former head of Federal Aviation Administration.

Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chairman of House transportation committee.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.

Mortimer Downey, former deputy transportation secretary.

Republicans Hagel, Lugar, Specter Praise Biden Choice

Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel: U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel issued the following statement today following Senator Barack Obama's selection of Senator Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic Vice Presidential nominee: "Joe Biden is the right partner for Barack Obama. His many years of distinguished service to America, his seasoned judgment and his vast experience in foreign policy and national security will match up well with the unique challenges of the 21st Century. An Obama-Biden ticket is a very impressive and strong team. Biden's selection is good news for Obama and America," Hagel said.

Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar: U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar made the following statement today en route to Tbilisi. "I congratulate Senator Barack Obama on his selection of my friend, Senator Joe Biden, to be his vice-presidential running mate. I have enjoyed for many years the opportunity to work with Joe Biden to bring strong bipartisan support to United States foreign policy…"

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter: Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter, a Republican who serves on the Judiciary Committee with Biden and often rides Amtrak with him to Washington, also offered praise. "No one on the Democratic side knows more about foreign policy than Sen. Biden," Specter said. "He's been an articulate spokesman on the subject. He also knows about domestic policy. He's been a leader on crime control."

Sam Nunn Obama Vice President?

Update 8-21: Looks like Nope.
Former Georgia senator Sam Nunn is nearly as old as McCain but is well spoken and has more wits about him. Though, he has been caught referring to Czechoslovakia, like McCain.

Nunn contemplated his own run for the White House in 2007.

I have been leaning toward Tim Kaine but Nunn has been quietly in the background, unassuming and seems to know his stuff. He's got loads of experience.

Nunn is one of the few democrats who isn't slated to speak -- yet -- at the convention, leading one to believe he could be Obama's vice president. Tim Kaine and Jack Reed haven't been slated either.
Evan Bayh and Joe Biden have been announced as speakers.
Here's what Nunn had to say about Obama in April.

AJC: Based on my conversations with Senator Obama, reading his book and his speeches and seeing the kind of campaign he has run, I believe that he is our best choice to lead our nation. Senator Obama, as evidenced by his words and his deeds, recognizes that:

— We have developed a habit of avoiding the tough decisions and seemingly lost our ability to build consensus to tackle head-on our biggest challenges.

— Demonizing the opposition, oversimplifying the issues, and dumbing down the political debate prevent our country from coming together to make tough decisions and tackle our biggest challenges.

— Solving America’s problems will require difficult choices and sacrifices and leaders capable of considering new ideas from both political parties.

— On foreign policy and security policy, we must recognize that we are not limited to a choice between belligerency and isolation and that we must listen to lead successfully on the key issues facing America and the world.

— Our next president must also recognize that the battle against violent terrorists, while requiring a prudent use of military power, is also a long-term contest of psychology and ideas.

Nunn has been working to shore up loose nuclear weapons, an asset for sure.

The case for Nunn

Newsweek: The main reason Nunn has a chance is that Obama has told his advisers that he won't choose anyone who lacks the stature to be perceived immediately as a plausible president. This makes any short list much shorter. Kathleen Sebelius and Ted Strickland, for instance, are good governors but they just aren't going to make that cut; Nunn's foreign policy experience, unquestioned intelligence, and big thinking assure that he does.

In Nunn's case, out of the Senate doesn't mean out of the action. His record in the 12 years since he left is impressive. Nunn and Sen. Richard Lugar have, with little public attention, managed to reduce the greatest security threat in the world—loose nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union. The Nunn-Lugar initiative has been a huge success and a Nobel Prize is a distinct possibility.

Some of Nunn's critics come from the gay and lesbian community.

Republican Picks for Obama's Cabinet

this is from the times UK, an enlightening story that covers a lot of ground. it seems european journalists write with much more candor. obama will likely choose some republicans for his candidate, sticking to his promise of nonpartisianship.

Obama is taking nothing for granted in his quest to become America’s first black president. “Remember New Hampshire!” he said, recalling the primary upset that restored Clinton’s status as the frontrunner after her initial shock defeat in Iowa.

Earlier Obama had told the audience at a suburban high school rally in Dallas, Texas, that he intended to follow the example of his hero, President Abraham Lincoln, and appoint a cabinet of the talents, irrespective of party labels.

here's another excerpt on who he might appoint:

AS Barack Obama enters the final stages of the fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, he is preparing to detach the core voters of John McCain, the likely Republican nominee, with the same ruthless determination with which he has peeled off Hillary Clinton’s supporters.

The scene is set for a tussle between the two candidates for the support of some of the sharpest and most independent minds in politics. Obama is hoping to appoint cross-party figures to his cabinet such as Chuck Hagel, the Republican senator for Nebraska and an opponent of the Iraq war, and Richard Lugar, leader of the Republicans on the Senate foreign relations committee.

Senior advisers confirmed that Hagel, a highly decorated Vietnam war veteran and one of McCain’s closest friends in the Senate, was considered an ideal candidate for defence secretary. Some regard the outspoken Republican as a possible vice-presidential nominee although that might be regarded as a “stretch”.

Asked about his choice of cabinet last week, Obama told The Sunday Times: “Chuck Hagel is a great friend of mine and I respect him very much,” although he was wary of appearing as though he was already choosing the White House curtains. But after winning 11 primary contests in a row after Super Tuesday, he is ready to elbow Clinton off the stage.